Curiosity, latent learning, and cognitive maps

ABSTRACT Curiosity refers to a desire for information that is not driven by immediate strategic or instrumental concerns. Latent earning refers to a form of learning that is not directly driven by standard reinforcement learning processes. We propose that curiosity serves the purpose of motivating latent learning. Thus, while latent learning is often treated as an incidental or passive process, in practice it most often reflects a strong evolved pressure to consume large amounts of information. That large volume of information in turn allows curious decision makers to generate sophisticated representations of the structure of their environment, known as cognitive maps. Cognitive maps facilitate adaptive and flexible behavior while maintaining its adaptivity and flexibility via map updates based on new information. Here we describe data supporting the idea that orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) play complementary roles in curiosity-driven learning. Specifically, we propose that (1) OFC tracks the innate value of information and incorporates new information into a detailed cognitive map; and (2) dACC tracks the environmental demands and information availability to then use the cognitive map for guiding behavior.